> ... I'll
> ask one set of questions: what is it about how we present math to
> students that makes it so unappealing, for the most part, that they
> see homework as drudgery and punishment, and celebrate when the
> teacher doesn't assign any? What makes TEACHERS clearly acknowledge
> that homework is in fact drudgery and punishment by offering
> "homework passes" as rewards in class? Why can't we give assignments
> that students look forward to doing? Is math a matter of "no pain,
> no gain," and, if so, is that a NECESSARY condition of learning the
> subject? Of most subjects?

One kind of homework that I've found to be quite successful in addressing these
(IMO crucial) issues with my high school students are the "Punchline" materials
developed by Steve and Janis Marcy. More info on these is available atwww.marcymathworks.com.

In my experience these are very sound both mathematically and pedogogically. In
fact, I can hardly say enough good things about them ... but you can easily
enough look at samples on their web site and judge for yourself. I have no
affiliation with Marcy Mathworks other than as a satisfied user of their
products.

This material is based upon work supported by the
National Science Foundation under Grant DUE-0226284.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
National Science Foundation.